US agency brokerage JonesTrading is launching execution services for Japan and has appointed Kevin Horgan, formerly of agency broker BTIG, as managing director to lead its expansion into Asia.
The move is the first in a series of strategic steps from JonesTrading to bring its relationship-based model to Asia and the Pacific Rim. JonesTrading has been growing its international execution business, with the expansion of US-based trading of international securities and operations in Canada.
Beginning its Asian execution capabilities by trading Japanese equities for US institutions, the firm then plans to expand trading with Japanese institutions, before moving out into the wider Asian and Pacific Rim markets.
To facilitate business development and trading operations both locally and to the US, JonesTrading will base its Asian execution operations in Hawaii, where it has opened an office in Honolulu, to be headed by Horgan.
“Expansion of the JonesTrading franchise into Asia provides traditional asset managers and hedge funds with an important alternative to electronic models,” said Horgan. “Using JonesTrading, firms control their own orders and are able to source liquidity and execute strategies that leverage our relationships with over 1,000 institutions.”
“This expansion is another key element in an overall plan to trade securities in markets worldwide,” commented Packy Jones, chairman and CEO of JonesTrading. “The expansion into Japan, with plans for greater initiatives to come, will enable both Japanese and US institutions to source equity liquidity in size at advantageous prices.”